Device for radioactive impregnation of materials



Feb. 9, 1 937. E. RosENBERG ET A1. 210695.50

DEVICE FOR ADIOACTIVE IMPREGNATION OF MATERIALS Filed April 17, 1936 INVENTOR www ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1937 PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE IMPREGNATION OF MATERIALS Egon Rosenberg, Berlin, and Paul Happel, Hamburg, Germany Application April 17, 1936, Serial No. '74,890 a In Germany March 21, 1935 11 Claims.

This invention relates to impregnation with radioactive material and more particularly to impregnation with radium emanation.

.In the impregnation of materials with radioactive preparations, great care must be taken not only to prevent loss or leakage of the preparation, but also to control the right quantity of preparation to be used in each impregnation.

This is particularly true where the preparation ture of a gas. Accordingly, it is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a device of relatively simpleconstruction which is capable of effecting impregnation of materials with radium emanation in accurately controllable amounts and without danger of leakage or loss of the emanation,

Another object is to provide a device whereby materials may be impregnated with radium emanation under pressure and in an atmosphere consisting substantially entirely of the emanation itself.

A feature of the invention relates to a device for impregnating with radium emanation employing a closed chamber containing the radium or other source of radium emanation, in conjunction with means within the chamber, but controllable from without the chamber, for releasing the emanation into contact with the material to be impregnated which is also situated within the chamber.

Another feature relates to a device for impregnating with radium emanation employing a gastight chamber having on the interior thereof a movable piston for creating a vacuum within the chamber, together with means' for removably mounting the radium or other source of radium emanation on an end Wall of the chamber in such a way that the emanation can be released only into the space in front of the piston and under control of the pistonmovement.

Another feature relates to a device for impregnating with radium emanation employing a gastight chamber having mounted therein a container for the radium emanationin conjunction with an improved valve arrangement whereby the emanation is simultaneously released from its container and thence into the space in front of the piston only.

` A further feature relates to a,v device for impregnation with radium emanation employing a valved container for the emanation, mounted within a cylinder and a piston within the cylinder provided with a valve-controlled passage therethrough together with means for normally includes radium emanation which is in the namaintaining the valves closed and for coupling the container and passage in a gas-tight manner-so that the radium emanation can be released into the space in front of the piston without loss or leakage. i 5

A still further feature relates to the novel organization, arrangement and relative location of parts which go to ymake up an improved, simple and thoroughly safe device for impregnating salves, oils, ointments and the like with radium emanation.

Other features and advantages not specically enumerated will be apparent after a consideration of the following detailed descriptions and the appended claims. l

The invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the type of device disclosed in Patent No. 2,056,370, granted October 6th,` 1936, and on the type of device disclosed in German Patent No. 602,598. In the said patent there is disclosed an arrangement wherein the vessel containing the source of the radium emanation is situated on the exterior of the chamber in which the actual impregnation of the `materials is to be effected. The vessel is therefore required to be connected to the impregnating chamber through the intermediary of a stop-cock or the like. Unless extreme precautions are taken therefore there is always the liability of leakage of the radium emanation through the stop-cock and its couplings on its way into the impregnating chamber. In accordance with the present invention the containerl for the radium emanation and the radium emanation generating material is mounted entirely within the impregnating chamber and more particularly between an end wall of vthe chamber and a piston movable within said chamber. The piston itself is provided with a passage extending therethrough which passage is normally maintained closed in a gas-tight manner by means of a very good valve. This valve is arranged to be opened only when the piston is drawn back suiiciently far to make a tight coupling with the device actually containing the radium emanation. The device containing the radium emanation is itself provided with a normally closed valve and the parts are so proportioned that the valves controlling the passage between the emanation container and the space in front of the piston are simultaneously opened but only when the said passage is completed in a gas-tight manner as will be described.

In the device containing the radium preparation, the radium emanation generated thereby collects, the quantity of which, as is already known, depends upon the kind andamount of the radium preparation employed as well as on the time during which the emanation collects in the device. It is a decided advantage that the container for just the right amount of radium emanation is situated on the interior of the impregnating chamber because no special container for the storage and preservation of the radioactive material is required. A further advantage is that the coupling tube and stop-cock between the usual radium container and the impregnating device proper, are avoided. The entire apparatus is thereby simplified materially and is free from those losses vwhich would ordinarily arise between the radium container and the impregnating cylinder.

While the invention will be explained in connection withtwo particular and typical embodiments, it will be understood that this is done merely for explanatory purposes and not by way of limitation. Accordingly in the drawing Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an impregnating device according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modification of Fig. l.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 the device comprises a cylinder I, for example of glass, both ends of which are closed by end caps 2 and 3 so as to be vacuum-tight. Seated for sliding movement within the cylinder is a piston I fastened to two or more threaded rods 5 or the like which, by means of a suitable transmission 6 and the hand-wheell, can be moved so as to reciprocate the piston in either direction within the cylinder. The parts 5, 6 and 1 are merely schematically illustrated although it will be understood that any wellknown manner of reciprocating the piston from the exterior of the cylinder may be e mployed. Piston 4 is provided with an opening extending therethrough which opening at its forward' end is normally closed in a gastight manner by a cone-shaped valve member 8 adapted to seat in the corresponding cone-shaped end of the piston opening as shown. Fastened to the member 8 is a -valve stem 8 and fastened to the stem 9 intermediate its ends is a disc III. 'I'he valve spring II, which at one end engages disc I8 and at the other end engages the shoulder I2, eiects a closure ofthe valve by maintaining the member 8 in the position shown in the drawing. A cylindrical member I3 with a cone-shaped bore extending therethrough,l engages one end of a spring I4 the other end of which engages the shoulder I5 and normally the member I3 is in the position shown but is capable of a slight movement longitudinally of the axis of the cylinder I. Member I3 is mounted for this limited movement in a cylindrical boss on the rear of the piston and preferably is providedvwith stufdng-box material l I6 to prevent leakage between the periphery of member I3 and the piston. p

At one end of the cylinder that is, on the end cap 3 there is removably mounted a container I1 having its periphery threaded and screwed into the corresponding threaded portion of end cap 3. The radium preparation 'I9 for generating the radium emanation is positioned at the bottom of the container I1 and is held in place by a perforated disc I8. A spring 20 at one end engages the'disc I8 and 'at the other end engages coneshapedrvalve member 2| to force the latter against the` corresponding cone-shaped wall of a member 22 which is threaded onto the end of the container I1. Preferably a rubber ring orr washer isv interposed between members I1 and 22 as shown.

` stem I3 moves towards the left.

Member 22 is provided with an opening 23 which is normally closed by means of the cone 2 I.

The parts are so mounted that the valve stem '9 is in axial alignment with the opening 23 so that it is. capable of entering said opening to' engage the cone 2|, when the piston l is moved rearwardly by turning the hand-wheel 1. The dimensions of, the various parts are so arranged that the stem 9 just engages cone 2l only when the member 22 is in tight fitting engagement with member.l3. The cone-shaped surfaces of members I3 and 22 are ground and polished, so that they can form a gas-tight engagement. further rearward movement of the piston, the The engagement betwen members I3 and 22 remains gas-tight but Upon by reason of the action of stem 9 and the springs II and 2U which are substantially of equal strength, the valves 8 and 2| are simultaneously opened. The emanation can thereupon flow from the container I1 into the' space in front of the piston only. As soon as the piston is moved forwardly by an appropriate turning -of hand-wheel 1, the valves 8 and 23 both close substantially simultaneously so that in the container I1 a new quantity of the radium emanation b/eginsto collect. Then upon slight further forward movement of the piston the union between members I3 and 22 is broken so that during no part of the forward movement of the piston is there a possibility of leakage or loss of the emanation in back of the piston.

Themanner of impregnating the desired material with the radium emanation is substantially as follows:

In the normal position of rest the piston 4 is situated well forward in the cylinder I; the passage in the piston is closed by member 8 as is likewise the opening 23 in the container I1. The stop-cock which is supported on the end wall 2 is closed and the piston is moved rearwardly` thus creating a vacuum in front of the piston. When the piston is moved to its rearmost position, the valves 8 and 2| open but members 22- piston whereupon the stop-cock may be closed.l

Further forward movement of the piston thereupon forces the `emanation into the material to be impregnated. When the impregnationhas beeny effected, the stop-cock 'isopened and further forward movement of the piston forces the impregnated or charged material out, it being understood that any suitable receptacle may be coupled to the outlet of the cylinder or if desired the receptacle originally containing the material to be impregnated may also be used to receive the material after its impregnation and as it is forced from the cylinder I.

Referring to Fig. 2 which shows a modication ofthe apparatus of Fig. 1 the arrangement is in general the same but in addition means are provided to insure an more nearly perfect engagement between the discharge end of the radium container and the passage through the piston. In this embodiment the cylinder I of glass is Ialso provided with the end closure caps 2 and 23 fastened in a vacuum-tight manner to the cylinder. The threaded spindle 25 passes through the end wall 23 so that the piston may be moved forwardly and rearwardly. Preferably the spindle 25 is coupled to the piston 24 by a ball-joint as shown. The piston 24 is provided with a recess in its rear face communicating with a relatively small perforation in the front face and suitably fastened in this perforation is a metal capillary tube 26, this tube being fastened in place by rubber bushings or the like, so as to avoid leakage between the periphery of the tube and -the piston. Tube 26 terminates at its right hand end in a ,relatively long conical-shaped portion having its interior surface smooth and polished `and passing through the metal tube intermediate its ends is a stop-cock 28. Stop-cock 28 is held in place by a suitable spring and is provided with two stops one for the open position of the stop-cockA and the other at thereto. By means of the spring 29 the stop-cock is normally held in closed position. Integrally fastened to the stop-cock'wing member is a rod 30 which is provided with a suitable guiding and supporting member to allow the said rod to be reciprocated. y

Seated in the end wall 23 is a small box 3| in which a small round precious-metal tube 32 slides, this tube being closed at its right hand end and containing the radium preparation which is held in place by a perforated plate and a, quantity of glass wool. The small tube terminates at its left hand end in a long tapered nozzle 33 which accurately ts the tapered coupling member 21. The tube is also provided with a stop-cock 34 which similarly to stop-cock 28 is held in place by a suitable spring and is normally maintained in closed position by spring 35. The wing of the stop-cock carries a plate 36 which is adapted to be engaged by rod 30 when the piston is moved rearwardly. A spring 31 normally forces the tube containing the radium preparation away from the bottom of box 3|. For the purpose of turning the member l33 relatively to member 21 to insure a more nearly perfect Contact therebetween, the wall of box 3| is provided with two helicaily arranged slits in which ride the pins 38 carried by the small tube 32. The slits are so arranged that the tube 32 is given a slight turning movement when it is moved in one or both longitudinal directions. By this means a more nearly perfect gas-tight engagement is achieved between the members 21 and '33 when they are pressed together. A spring 39 can be provided in order to equalize the pressure on both halves of the piston so that it cannot tilt, since otherwise the forced engagement between members 21 and 33 might cause the piston to tilt slightly and disturb the proper engagement between members 21 and 33.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2 the piston is normally well forward in the cylinder and rather close to the end cap 2 as shown. The stop-cock which is carried by wall 2 is closed and when the piston is moved rearwardly by turning the spindle 25, the space in front of the piston is evacuated. On further rearward movement of the piston members 21 and 33 engage each other and eventually the tube 32 is moved against the force of spring 31 and is also given a slight turn- .ing motion.v Further rearward motion of the piston causes thevrod 38 to strike the plate 36 and thereupon both stop-cocks 28 and 34 are simultaneously opened. The radium emanation in tube ,32 which is of a known quantity, flows from the said tube through members 33 and 21 and thence into the space in front of the piston. The piston can then be moved forwardly slightly to close the stop-cocks 28 and 34 whereupon the material to be impregnated or charged is allowed to be drawn into the cylinder and further forward movement of the piston forces the emanation into the material.

In both of 'the foregoing embodiments the box or container |1.for the radium preparation can be easily detached and the radium preparation therein can be replaced by other or differentV emanation generating material. If desiredprovision can be made whereby the opening of the stop-cock carried by wall '2 is positively prevented while the radium container is open to the space in front of the piston.v

With the new arrangements and with the new procedure, it is possible to activate or impregnate not only highly viscous materials such as salves, but also every kind of material in liquid form. Likewise it is possible to lead agas into the cylinder instead of a liquid, where such gas is to be mixed with radium emanation. One can also charge solid materials, such as carbon or parain with the emanation, provided such solid materials are in a vessel that can be coupled as by a threaded coupling.to the inlet in cap 2. Then by rearward movement of the piston in the above arrangements, the forward part of the cylinder as well as the attached vessel can be simultaneously evacuated.

Various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed-is:

1. A device for impregnating materials with radium emanation comprising, an enclosing chamber having an inlet opening to receive the material to be impregnated, a piston movable within said chamber to create a partial suction through said opening, a container for emanationgenerating material mounted within said chambei' apart from the piston, an outlet opening for said container, a valve normally closing said outlet, a passage through said piston, another valve for controlling said passage, and means responsive to rearward movement of the piston to open y said other valve to allow the emanation in said container to iiow only through said passage and into the space in front of the piston. the lastmentioned means including coupling members to provide a gas-tight passage from the container to the piston passage.- v

2. A device for impregnating materials with radium emanation comprising, an enclosing chamberhaving an inlet opening to receive the material to be impregnated, a piston movable iwithin said chamber to create a suctionthrough said' opening, a. container for emanation-generating material mounted within said chamber, a valve normally closing oil said container, a passage through said piston, a valve normally closing oiI said passage, and means responsive to rearward movement of the piston to open both said valves to allow the emanation in said container to iow only through said passage and into the space in front of said piston, the last-mentioned means including coupling members to provide a, gas-tight passage from the container to 1 the piston passage.

3. In a device of the character described the combination of a cylinder, end closure caps for said cylinder at least one of said end caps being readily removable and one of said end caps havf ing a nozzle, a piston movable within said cylinder to create a suction through said nozzle, a illllng nozzle carried by one of said end caps, a container for emanation-generating material mounted within said cylinder, a nozzle for said container, a valve normally closing said container nozzle, a passage through said piston, `a valve normally closing said passage, a coupling member carried by said pistonand .arrangedto form a gas-tight coupling with said container nozzle when said piston is moved rearwardly,- and means eirective when said coupling is completed to open both said valves to allow the emanation in said vtainer nozzle.

7. In a devic of thev character described the .combination oi a cylinder having end caps, a

container to ow only through said passage intothe space in front oi' said piston.

4. In a device of the character described the combination of a cylinder, endclosure caps for said cylinder, a nozzle carried by one of said caps, a piston movable within said cylinder to create a suction through said nozzle, a container for emanation-generating material and mounted on the other of said end caps, a discharge nozzle for said container, a valve controlling said nozzle,

said piston having a passage therethrough and a valve for controlling said passage at one end, a spring for each valve normally holding the valves in closed position, a coupling member carried by the piston and disposed at the other end of said passage, said coupling member arranged to engage the container nozzle to form a gastight path for Athe emanation from the container and through thepiston passage into the spacein front of the piston, and a valve-operating rod arranged to open both said valves substantially simultaneously only after said coupling member tightly engages said container nozzle.

5. A device according to claim 4 in which the coupling member, the container nozzle and said rod are mounted in alignment along the axis of the cylinder.

6. A device according to claim 4 in which the coupling member and thecontainer nozzle are mounted in alignment but off-set from the axis of the cylinder, and a compensating spring is provided to prevent tilting of the piston when the coupling member tightly engages said oonnozzle carried by one of said end caps, a piston movable within said cylinder to `create a suction through said nozzle, a passage through said piston, a valve normally closing oiI the forward end of said passage. a conical shaped coupling member mounted at the other end of said passage, a spring normally impelling said coupling member away from said valve, a container for emanation generating material mounted on the other end cap. l conical shaped nozzle for said container, a valve normally closing off said container 9. A device according to claim 4 in which the coupling member, and the container nozzle are mounted in alignment but oil-set from the longitudinal axis of the cylinder, and an operating rod is coupled by a ball-joint to the center oi' the piston, and a compensating spring is provided to engage the piston when the said coupling member and container nozzle are in engagement, to prevent tilting of said piston.

10. In a device of the character described, the

combination of a cylinder having end caps at least one of which is readily removable, a piston within said cylinder, a passage extending through said piston, a conical-shaped member communieating with said passage, Aa valve i'or said passage. a spring normally maintaining said valve closed, a container for emanation-generating material mounted at the rear of said cylinder, a conicalshaped nozzle for said container and arranged to fit within said conical-shaped.coupling member when the piston is moved rearwardly to a predetermined position, a valve for said nozzle, means effective upon engagementof the nozzle and coupling member and responsive to further rearward movement ot the piston to impart to said nozzle a slight turning movement, and means eiective upon even further rearward movement of the piston to open both of said valves.

11. In -a device of the character described, af

transparent cylinder, a main discharge nozzle at.

one end of the cylinder, a piston movable within said cylinder to create a suction through said nozzle, a container for emanation generating A materialgmounted at the rear of said'cylinder, means normally closing-oil said container from the interior of the cylinder, a passage through the piston, and means including a valve and relatively movable coupling members eiective only when said piston is moved rearwardly to a pre- 'determined extent to provide a gas-tight passage from said container through said e only to the'space in front of said cylinder.

EGON ROSENBERG. PAUL HAPPEL. 

